After saving up a ridiculous amount of money, I’ve decided to go ahead and buy myself a folding bike after reading the best folding bike reviews over at the folding bike guy’s website. He has assured me that the Dahon and Montague models are by far the best. However it’s also worth a note that the British Brompton brand are also making quite the splash and are one of the most preferred folding bike models currently in existence. I’ve seen a fair few of them about in London in the recent months and continue to search for additional examples of them on the road to use as a reference point.

I can’t wait for my Dahon Speed Uno to arrive, I’ve been waiting for it for a few weeks now – due to the delivery times from America, however you’ll all be happy to hear that it has now arrived in the UK and should be with me very, very soon. Of the other folding bikes that I considered, there was the Dahon Speed D7, Dahon Mu Uno and the Dahon Mariner D7 too. In addition, I did spend some time thinking about whether or not I wanted to go for a folding mountain bike with the Montague Paratrooper Pro but decided that it was probably too large to use in and around the city – between offices and what not.

I do believe that, from all the best folding bike reviews that I read in the weeks preceding this post, that the Dahon Speed Uno is the best bike out there at the moment. Darren, my friend from University, really did help me out too as he has a small collection of bikes that he allowed me to take on a test ride. I tried these out because I was initially quite sceptical about just going for a folding bike with small wheels, I thought that they would have stability issues – however Darren has assured me that is not the case and kindly enough offered his collection to me for a day. I’m a firm believer now that Dahon make the best bikes around and would happily recommend my friends and family one of them if it came to it – they are truly beautiful ride, smooth on and off the road. They feel extremely sturdy, likely to last for a fair few years and so I’d say that they are worth the high price tag that is associated with Dahon these days. I’m hoping on using my new bike to get out of the city and hopefully take it abroad with me when I finally do manage to get out of here and go travelling. Who knows, my future blog may not just be about travelling, I might try and incorporate folding bikes into there somehow too – seems like a relatively untapped niche that is waiting to be taken if you ask me!

So today I got a little bit bored earlier and decided that I was going to write a post about myself and what I’m currently up to at the moment. Well, essentially I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’m not entirely happy with my job. My boss doesn’t really push me anywhere near as hard as I need to be, the work I’m doing isn’t challenging, I’m not the best at client interactions and am ultimately not really cut to go any further in the company. Who knows what’s going to happen in the coming months, I’ve been due a promotion for a while now but am ultimately not sure about whether or not I’m going to get one. We will have to see really, but I think I’m more than deserving of one.

In other news I’m also thinking about selling my car and going travelling, the only issue is that I just don’t have enough money to justify it really, I just spent a whole tonne on a bike that I’ve been eyeing up for a long time – months actually. I wish that I did and it’s the main thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. I spend far too much time pushing my friends away and solely thinking about leaving and going on an adventure. It’s something that I’ve always been keen on doing, despite being relatively introverted for my entire life – I’m just thoroughly confused as to where I’m going, I just really don’t know any more.

I don’t think that I’m scared of growing up, in fact I loved life up until about two years ago, now that I’m working I’d say that the quality of my life has certainly dipped, and I am now of the belief that life is for living, not working. I think I’d like to do some post doctoral research, however I don’t know what in and where at. I’m also slightly concerned that I’ll not only fall behind in the job market, but also that I won’t actually manage to finish any work that I begin in academia. If I do choose that path I’ll make sure to let all of you know here first, sorry for the emotional post, it’s just what has been plaguing my mind for a long while now and it’s nice to be able to get it all written down for all to see. If anybody has some advice I’d love to hear from you because as it stand I’m not entirely sure what’s going on in my head and where I’m likely to be in a year, let alone a few from now.

Anyway, I’m going to be coming back here very soon to continue writing some reviews about additional Vauxhall models, I don’t know what is coming up next but anybody who would like to see something special – hit me up and I’ll never let you down, I might actually start writing a few more personal entries and talking about the new folding bike that I purchased the other day. Folding bikes are incredible by the way guys, just to let you know, check out some folding bike reviews on here soon.

So here goes, my second review, and this time it will be as promised – the Vauxhall Astra 2016 edition. This British made car has been scored highly in all preliminary reviews, as we’ve come to expect over the years, this manufacturer really does not mess about. The car is beautifully refined and offers new buyers an outstanding quality interior, exterior and everything else, including all of the latest technology too – all for a fantastic price too. What could possibly be better than all of this?

The Vauxhall Astra is truly up there with the best in its class, you may be asking yourself, exactly what class does the Astra fall into – well, we can tell you that it’s a small family hatchback based car. While the price is surely higher than the Viva we reviewed previously, this model boasts considerably more clout than the Viva. Not only this, but the energy is actually more efficient than its contemporary too, this is not something that we usually expect to hear when we purchase a car with a larger engine. Either way, from our review of various Astra models, we always feel safest by going for the larger engines. As a result we personally recommend the SRi Nav 1.6 CDTI, this beautiful car comes in with a huge 135 horse power.

The Astra has been around for many years now and Vauxhall are really milking it for every single drop they can muster, it’s currently in its 7th generation and this trend looks likely to continue long into the future. It really is a hallmark model within the British car manufacturing world, it has world renowned rivalry with some of the biggest car manufacturers in the world; most notably in the case of Volkswagen with their Golf and Polo and with Ford and their Fiesta and Focus. We highly recommend choosing the Vauxhall in all of these cases, mainly because the car is so much cheaper, but not only that – it also now has the highest specifications in almost all aspects too, again, there really is something special about this 2016 Astra.

One thing that I have to note here is that it is possible to choose a slightly higher specification with the 2016 Vauxhall Astra, however I’m not sure it’s worth the large price jump to do so, many will ignore this and just go all the way. But for those who are on a tight budget, know this, there is nothing to be ashamed of with the 1.6 litre engine – it has more than enough power and can actually accelerate to 60 miles per hour in under 10 seconds, quite a feat for such a cheap model if I don’t say so myself. If you want to check out more reviews go ahead, or if you want information on how to purchase this lovely model then go ahead and follow the link to Vauxhall’s website below.

Okay so I promised everybody that I’d look at the 2016 astra before doing anything else, however I’ve been totally captivated by the new Viva in the past few days and feel like it’s a car that will be truly dominating the market in days and weeks to come. Firstly, let’s put it in perspective. While it’s certainly not one of Vauxhall’s flag ship models, it’s definitely capable of competing with its rivals; the Skoda Citigo and the Hyundai i10. Other models that are on its radar are the Suzuki Celerio and the Peugeot 108.

The first thing that I have to note is the fact that the Vauxhall Viva is the cheapest Vauxhall model that is currently available to purchase. It costs as little as £7,995 and therefore is considerably cheaper than models that I mentioned previously. It comes with a single engine, as with all of the Viva models, and has a nice and tasty 74 horse power, all driven by a single 1 litre petrol engine. The car has only got 5 distinct gears, however it is extremely quick at accelerating, you can expect to reach 60 miles per hour within 13 seconds if you stick your foot to the floor.

In terms of the basic equipment that comes with the car, it’s really not too bad. All versions of the Vauxhall Viva have a total of five seats, all of the interior of the car uses electricity; the windows, wipers and it has a remote central locking system too – now you’re all beginning to see why the Viva is quite the bargain for only 8 thousand pounds, not bad! Other features that the Viva boasts is the climate control system, it also has both USB and bluetooth connectivity and an excellent safety mechanism too.

I personally believe that while this car is fairly suited to anywhere you live, it is best fitting within a city environment and it certainly performs best there too. I would personally choose it above the Skoda Citigo and the Hyundai i10, despite them costing considerably more than this entry level car. Released in 2016, the Vauxhall Viva is going to be in Vauxhall’s ranks for many years to come now, it is perfectly suited to driving throughout a town or city, and in a range of weather conditions too. Yes, the engine is small and yes it’s not the quickest either, however it’s absolutely everything that you could possibly require if you are a city dweller like myself. It’s slight frame and excellent handling makes it easy to maneuver through winding city streets at absolutely any time of the day. I would actually go as far to say that it is one of the top performing city cars that is currently in productions – for any brand – not just simply Vauxhall alone.

Hello and welcome to the Vauxhall Collective, I’m here to explain a little about myself and my brand new website too. Essentially I’m a car fanatic and have a particular love for Vauxhall’s. In all of my years of driving I’ve owned three different types of Vauxhall, including their flagship models; the Astra and the Corsa. I’m intending on spending some time writing about both myself and also reviewing any of the latest car models that I get to test out. I’ve already had the pleasure of driving the majority of Vauxhall models that are currently being produced, however in the future I’m going to be testing some of the older and of course more classic one’s too.

Right from the out I’d like to put it out there that anybody reading this can let me know if they want a particular model reviewing and I’m totally open to looking at different manufacturers too – if that’s what you all want to see, simply let me know in the comments section below each post and I’ll get back to you with what I think as soon as I can. Anyway, enough about the blog and a bit more about myself. I’m 29, I current live in North London – Wood Green to be particular. Unfortunately since I’m living in London I don’t always get the chance to drive around, as you would all expect, it’s just so much easier to use the fantastic public transport down here. Obviously for somebody like me, this isn’t really ideal as I derive so much enjoyment from taking my baby out for a spin.

For the past 3 years I’ve had a 1.6 liter Astra, it has a number of modifications on it that I’ve made over the years, and of course I’m looking at adding to it further in the future, as my wallet permits! I’m currently working in the banking industry, not the most exciting of jobs, however I’m going to be looking at heading back to University soon to try and get into a different niche. You’re probably wondering why I’d make such a rash change of lifestyle, however I’m of the thought that if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, or don’t feel challenged enough – then it’s time to move on. There’s no point wasting your life doing something that doesn’t fulfill everything that you want from it.

Before I moved down to London I lived up in Newcastle, where I did my undergraduate. I saved up all my money to come down here to chase the city dream, but it was wholly unfulfilled for me and I’m now searching for another challenge elsewhere. Hopefully somewhere where I am a lot more flexible to drive my car, and also hopefully somewhere where I can save a bit more money for new cars and obviously new modifications too! Cheers for checking out my blog, please come back in a few days to follow up on my first review of the new Vauxhall Astra 2016.